Reversible furniture cover or receptacle and method for making same



Nov. 5, 1963 D. o. LEVI 3,109,474

REVERSIBLE FURNITURE COVER OR RECEPTACLE AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME Original Filed Nov. 3, 1959 INVENTOR DAISY 0. Law

United States Patent 3,109,474 REVERSIBLE FURNITURE CGVER 0R RECEP- TACLE AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME Daisy 0. Levi, Coral Gables, Fla, assiguor to Daisy 0. Levi and Renato Levi Original application Nov. 3, 1959, Ser. No. 850,655, now Patent No. 3,044,517, dated July 17, 1562. Divided and this application Mar. 27, 1962, Ser. No. 186,289

4 Claims. (Cl. 159-552) This invention relates to the general class of receptacles in the nature of covers for articles of furniture and, more specifically, the instant invention pertains to the cover construction as well as to the method for making the same, this invention comprising a division of my copending patent application Serial No. 850,655, filed November 3, 1959, and entitled, Reversible Furniture Cover or Receptacle and Method for Making Same, and which issued on July 17, 1952 as Patent No. 3,044,517.

By way of example only, and not to be construed as limitations on the scope of the applicability of this invention, a cover constructed in accordance with the following specification and as illustrated in the drawing will be found readily adaptable to cover pillows, cushions, mattresses, suitcases, trunks, Ottomans, pads, handbags, et cetera. Coverings for such articles are not new, per se, but coverings for such items as are presently available on the open market or as are known in all prior art devices, are subject to at least three basic objections, for example, one of the most serious and obvious drawbacks to the conventional article cover is found in its propensity or afiinity to become soiled after but a short period of usage. Cover soilage gives rise, in turn, to secondary undesirable consequences which may be classified as (l) lacking sanitation and (2) being offensive to the aesthetic eye. In connection with the matter of sanitation, assume that the article to be covered is a pillow for the users head. Medical science has long looked with disfavor upon the application of soiled or begrimed articles to the human body for reasons so obvious as to preclude a dissertation herein. Facial contact, therefore, with a soiled pill-ow cover comprises an open invitation to infection, disease, and other health complaints. As for the aesthetic phase, no one knows better than the homemaker or interior decorator, for example, the destructive effect a solid article of furniture plays in an otherwise perfectly appointed room.

A second of the major disadvantages with known prior art article coverings resides in its lack of versatility. By way of elaboration, let it again be assumed that reference is made to the cover for a pillow. When the exposed side of the pillow is covered with a conventional closure and the exterior side thereof becomes soiled, the cover must be removed and replaced. This, in turn, may create two additional problems. In the first place, the color of the replacement cover may clash With the surrounding environment, and/or it may be found that the desired size of the replacement cover is not immediately available. Under either of these circumstances, a person of discriminating taste would be obliged to remove the article from sight until such time that a suitable replacement or substitute cover comes to hand.

The third major objection to conventional furniture article covers resides in the method of construction. For the most part, such covers are poorly seamed which permits joined panels to gape and become disengaged, and further, the seams are easily snagged and ripped.

To overcome these and other objectionable features and characteristics, this invention proposes to provide, as a primary object thereof, a reversible cover for an article of furniture, equipage or accouterment wherein the exice posed face or surface of the cover always comprises the finished or display side of a fabric material.

A further object of this invention is to provide for an article to be covered with a cover member wherein each delineated side thereof comprises a pair of fabric panels disposed in juxtaposition relative to each other with each pair having, preferably, a differing color.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a multi-paneled receptacle or article cover formed of a fabric material and having interlocking seams joining proximate panels.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a sewing method of assembly for joining seuperimposed pairs of fabric panels to form, as an end result of the seaming or stitching operations, an article cover of the type generally described supra.

This invention contemplates, as a still further object thereof, the provision of an article cover which is noncomplex in construction and assembly, inexpensive to manufacture, and durable in use.

Other and further objects and advantages of the instant invention will become more evident from a consideration of the following specification when read in conjunction With the annexed drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded perspective view of a plurality of substantially rectangular panels formed of fabric material and utilized in construction a cover member or receptacle in accordance with this invention;

FIGURE 2 illustrates the first step in the construction of the cover member or receptacle and illustrates the manner in which the panels of FIGURE 1 are fixedly secured together;

FIGURE 3 illustrates the next succeeding step in forming the cover member or receptacle wherein substantially one-half of all the panels comprising the cover member are shown as being drawn through an opening formed in one of the panels;

FIGURE 4 is a View similar to FIGURE 3, and illustrating the next succeeding step in constructing the cover member or receptacle wherein the other end of the assembled panels is shown as being withdrawn through an opening provided therefor;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the completed cover or receptacle; and

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged detail, cross-sectional View taken substantially on the vertical plane of line 6-6 of FIGURE 5, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now more specifically to FIGURES 1 to 6, inclusive, illustrating one embodiment of this invention, wherein reference numeral 50' designates, in general, a

cover member or receptacle for a pillow, pad, or article of furniture, constructed in accordance With the teachings of the instant invention. As represented in the several Figures, the cover member 50 is seen to be constructed of four elongated substantially rectangular panels 52, 54, 56 and 58 which are pre-cut from fabric material, and of these panels the pairs of panels 52, 54 and 56, 5%, respectively, are formed of materials having differing colors and designs (see FIGURE 1). For reasons to he made more clear below, the panels 52 and 58 are somewhat longer than the panels 54, 56. Each of the panels 52, 54, 56 and 58 includes finished and unfinished surfaces designated by the letters F and U which immediately follow the reference numeral designating the given panel.

The panels 52, 58 are severed transversely intermediate their respective opposed ends to serve a function to be described.

In constructing the reversible furniture cover or receptacle 50, the panels 52, 54 are superimposed against one another with their respective finished sides 52F and 54F disposed in confronting relation (see FIGURE 2) and the same step is performed with respect to the panels 56, 58. The pairs of panels 52, 54 and 56, 53 are now stacked together with the opposed end edges thereof being contained in a pair of spaced parallel planes and with the unfinished sides of the panels 54U and 56U being superimposed against each other and with the unfinished sides SZU and 58U of the now outer panels 52, 58 facing outwardly and away from each other. The confronting inner adjacent ends 60, 62 of the panel 52, and the corresponding ends 64, 66 of the panel 58, are now reverted over the unfinished sides of their associated panels. The panels 52, 54, 56 and 58 and the reverted ends 60, 62, 64 and 66 are now secured together in a four-ply seam by a peripheral line of stitches 68.

The fabricator or operator now inserts his hand through the slot 70 that extends between the reverted ends 60, 62 between the confronting finished sides 52F, 54E of the panels 52, 54, and grasps the sewn edges 72 of all of the panels and turns the same inside-out through the gap or slot 70, see FIGURE 3. This same operation is performed at the other end, the fabricator or operator, in this instance, inserting his hand between the finished surfaces 52F, 54F of the panels 52, 54 and grasps see FIG URE 3) the sewn edges 74 and draws the same through the gap 70 to turn the remaining portion inside-out. As the edges 72 are drawn through the gap 7 0, they are turned in the reverse direction over the reverted end 62 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIGURE 3, and as the sewn edges 74 are drawn through the gap 70 they, too, are turned in the reverse direction over the reverted end 6% in the direction of the arrow shown in FIGURE 4, associated therewith. This completes the construction of the cover member 50-.

Of course, the joined ends of the panels 50' drawn through the gap 76 between the reverted ends 64, 66 is the final step, if so desired. In either case, however, the outer marginal edges of the panels remain between the un-' finished sides 52U and '58U of the panels 52, 58 and are disposed on one side of the line of stitching 68.

It will be noted that as the final step of turning insideout is completed, the gaps 70, 76 are aligned with one another. In this instance, the reverted ends 60, 64 and 62, -66 are juxtaposed against each other, and when desired,

the finished sides 56F and 58F of the panels 56, 58 may be displayed by turning the cover member inside-out through the aligned gaps'70, 76.

Having described and illustrated this invention in detail, it will be understood that the instant embodiment and method for forming the article or cover member is offered merely by way of example, and that the scope of this invention is to be limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A method for constructing a reversible cover member for an article of furniture formed of two pairs of panels each having the same configuration and comprising the steps of superimposing said panels one upon the other with the peripheral edges thereof being coincident, stitching together said superimposed panels adjacent the margina1 edges thereof, forming an opening in both of the outermost panels, and the final step of turning all of said panels inside-outrthrough a selected one of said openings.

2. A reversible cover member for an article of furniture comprising two pair of panels superimposed one on the other, one of said pair of panels having inwardlyfolded peripherally-extending marginal edges, the other pair of panels also having inwardly-extending peripheral edges, said last-named peripheral edges being interposed between said first-named peripheral edges and all of said peripheral edges being interposed between said first pair of panels, stitching extending through all of said peripheral edges, and said first pair of panels each having an opening formed therein.

3. A reversible cover member for an article of furniture comprising two pair of panels superimposed one on the other, one of said pair of panels having inwardlyfolded peripherally-extending marginal edges, the other pair of panels also having inwardly-extending peripheral edges, said last-named peripheral edges being interposed between said first-named peripheral edges and all of said peripheral edges being interposed between said first pair of panels, stitching extending through all of said'peripheral edges to secure said panels in a four-ply seam, and each panel of said first pair of panels having an opening formed therein intermediate a pair of opposed ends thereof, said openings being located in substantial alignment one With the other.

4. A method for constructing a reversible cover member or receptacle formed of two pair of panels each having the same configuration and dimensions, one of said pair of panels being severed to form two sections, said method comprising the steps of superimposing the other of :said pairs of panels against one another, superimposing said two sections, respectively, of said one pair of panels against the remotely-disposed sides of said other pair of panels, positioning said sections and pair of panels so that the marginal edges thereof are coincident, stitching together said sections and said other pair of panels adjacent the marginal edges thereof, and the final step of turning all of said panels inside-out through one of the openings formed at the adjacent sides of either of said two sectional panels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,291,155 Gartz July 28, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS 80,967 Austria July 26, 1920 

1. A METHOD FOR CONSTRUCTING A REVERSIBLE COVER MEMBER FOR AN ARTICLE OF FURNITURE FORMED OF TWO PAIRS OF PANELS EACH HAVING THE SAME CONFIGURATION AND COMPRISING THE STEPS OF SUPERIMPOSING SAID PANELS ONE UPON THE OTHER WITH THE PERIPHERAL EDGES THEREOF BEING COINCIDENT, STITCHING TOGETHER SAID SUPERIMPOSED PANELS ADJACENT THE MARGINAL EDGES THEREOF, FORMING AN OPENING IN BOTH OF THE OUTERMOST PANELS, AND THE FINAL STEP OF TURNING ALL OF SAID PANELS INSIDE-OUT THROUGH A SELECTED ONE OF SAID OPENINGS. 